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Hester Thrale.
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Hester Lynch Piozzi's fame and notoriety as a friend of Samuel Johnson have often obscured her own literary achievements and her considerable contemporary success in publishing. The trusted confidante...
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Although she was a prolific and versatile writer, Hester Lynch [Thrale] Piozzi is remembered primarily for being a friend of Samuel Johnson and for the scathing portrayal of her which James Boswell wr...
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In the excerpt below, the critic comments on Piozzi's Retrospection, finding fault with her grammar and her lack of a "regular series of dates. "
Cicero somewhere observes—...
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In the following excerpt, Spacks focuses on Piozzi's Thraliana and concludes that the work's literary merit "is its vivid revelation of a woman's psychology. "
The e...
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In the following excerpt, the critics present a portrait of Piozzi's character based on her letters and diaries.
Often too quick to take offence, Mrs. Piozzi never suffered from an excess of hu...
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In the essay below, Brownley examines the relationship between Piozzi and Samuel Johnson.
In English literary history, the later eighteenth century is known as the Age of Johnson, after Samuel Johnson...
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In the following excerpt, McCarthy discusses Piozzi's Anecdotes of the Late Samuel Johnson, LL.D. and compares the book with James Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson.
A transition from an...
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In the following essay, McCarthy discusses Piozzi's stature among literary scholars and remarks on the revival of interest in her works as fueled by feminist criticism.
Let me introduce my subj...
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In the following excerpt from a collection of her diaries and letters, Burney (Madame D'Arblay) comments on Piozzi's character and compares her to Madame de Staël Holstein.
I have...
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In the following excerpt, the anonymous critic comments on Piozzi's character, focusing in particular on her "animated manner" and her "charm" as the mistress of Str...
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In the excerpt below, Saintsbury comments on Piozzi's character and her skills as a letter writer and diarist.
The century is deservedly famous for letters, memoirs, and all the other more or l...
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In the following excerpt, Meynell remarks on Piozzi's marriages, social life, and literary style, finding that she had "all the interest belonging of right to a woman altogether of her t...
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In the excerpt below, Roberts provides an overview of Piozzi's writings.
At an early age, Hester Salusbury had an itch for writing:
It was then, too, when I was about thirteen, fourteen, and f...
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In the following essay, Clifford discusses the content and style of Piozzi's letters, concluding that "few can read her letters without gaining an intimate knowledge of the woman herself...
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In the following essay, Barrows remarks on the relevancy of Observations and Reflections Made in the Course of a Journey through France, Italy, and Germany to modern readers, noting Piozzi's st...
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In the following excerpt, Sherbo discusses Piozzi's biography of Johnson and the circumstances of its publication.
As early as 1768 when Johnson advised her to 'get a little Book'...
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Hester Lynch (Thrale) Piozzi
Critical Review by The London Review and Literary Journal
